Superintendent demands raises for nation’s wealthiest teachers, says they deserve $100,000+ a year

A week after a superintendent suggested raising the salaries of all Michigan teachers, a new study found that teachers in the Great Lakes State are already better compensated than their peers in virtually every other state.

Last week, state Superintendent Mike Flanagan proposed boosting teachers’ salaries in Michigan to the $100,000 range. The raises would attract better math and science teachers to the state, he said.

“When you ratchet-up teacher salaries to $100,000-plus, market forces will direct more mid-career changers and you’ll attract more math and science college students into our educator prep programs,” he said in a statement.

But according to a new study from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Michigan teachers are already among the wealthiest in the country. When cost of living is factored in, Michigan teachers make more than teachers in every other state, except Illinois.

“In Michigan, the average teacher salary is slightly above $60,000,” said Michael Van Beek, director education policy at Mackinac, in an interview with The Daily Caller News Foundation. “If you wanted to bring the average salary all the way up to $100,000, it would cost over $4 billion.”

In addition to placing a significant burden on a financially recovering state, the raises would do little to attract the best teachers to Michigan, said Van Beek.

“It wouldn’t have a large effect on bringing teachers in from other states,” he said.

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